There is a substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of substrate processing sections are connected, and a substrate is transferred among the substrate processing sections (See, e.g., Patent Literature 1). As an example of such a substrate processing apparatus, there is a multi-chamber-type substrate processing apparatus that includes a cluster including a transfer chamber and a plurality of chambers connected to the periphery of the transfer chamber, in which a substrate is transferred to each of the chambers by a transfer aim provided within the transfer chamber and is processed within each of the chambers. Also, as an example of the multi-chamber-type substrate processing apparatus, there is a multi-cluster-type substrate processing apparatus that includes a plurality of clusters connected to each other in line, in which a substrate is transferred to each of the clusters by being conveyed among the clusters (See, e.g., Patent Literature 2).
FIG. 11 is schematic plan view illustrating an example of a conventional substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a multi-cluster-type substrate processing apparatus that includes a first cluster 400 and a second cluster 500, in which a substrate is carried into the first cluster 400, and the second cluster 500 is connected to the first cluster 400 in line. The first cluster 400 includes a transfer chamber 401 including a transfer arm A401, and chambers 402 and 403 connected to the periphery of the transfer chamber 401. The second cluster 500 includes a transfer chamber 501 including a transfer arm A501, and chambers 502 and 503 connected to the periphery of the transfer chamber 501.
A load-lock chamber 300 is connected to one end of the first cluster 400, and a relay section 401a is provided to the other end of the first cluster 400. The substrate that has been processed within the first cluster 400 and the second cluster 500 is carried out from the first cluster 400 through a load-lock chamber 300. The first cluster 400 is connected to the second cluster 500 via the relay section 401a. The load-lock chamber 300 is connected to an atmospheric transfer section 200 that transfers the substrate to/from a housing section 100 under an atmospheric pressure state.
Also, the load-lock chamber 300 is connected to an exhaust section 301 and an opening section 302 via a valve V301, in which the exhaust section 301 is configured to decompress the inside to the pressure within the transfer chamber 401, and the opening section 302 is configured to recover the inside to the atmospheric pressure within the atmospheric transfer section 200. The atmospheric transfer section 200 includes a transfer arm A200 transferring the substrate disposed therewithin. The housing section 100 houses a plurality of wafers W0 to be used as substrates. Hereinafter, a process of substrate-processing on the wafers W0 housed in the housing section 100 by the conventional multi-cluster-type substrate processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 11 will be described.
The transfer arm A200 takes out one wafer W0 to be processed from the housing section 100, and transfers the wafer W0 to the load-lock chamber 300 to store therein. The transfer arm A401 receives the wafer W0 within the load-lock chamber 300 and carries the wafer W0 into the transfer chamber 401. When the wafer W0 carried into the transfer chamber 401 is processed within, for example, the chamber 403, the wafer W0 within the transfer chamber 401 is transferred into the chamber 403 by the transfer atm A401. When the processing within the chamber 403 is completed, the transfer arm A401 transfers the wafer W0 within the chamber 403 into the transfer chamber 401, and then transfers the wafer W0 to the load-lock chamber 300 to store therein.
The transfer a in A200 receives the wafer W0 within the load-lock chamber 300 and carries out the wafer W0 to the housing section 100. When the wafer W0 carried into the transfer chamber 401 is processed within, for example, the chamber 502 included in the second cluster 500, the transfer arm A401 transfers and stores the wafer W0 into the relay section 401a. The transfer arm A501 receives the wafer W0 within the relay section 401a and transfers the wafer W0 to the transfer chamber 501. Then, the transfer aim A501 transfers the wafer W0 within the transfer chamber 501 to the chamber 502.
When the processing within the chamber 502 is completed, the transfer aim A501 transfers the wafer W0 within the chamber 502 into the transfer chamber 501, and further transfers and stores the wafer W0 into the relay section 401a. The transfer aim A401 receives the wafer W0 within the relay section 401a and carries the wafer W0 into the transfer chamber 401. Then, the transfer arms A401 and A200 carry out the wafer W0 within the transfer chamber 401 to the housing section 100 via the load-lock chamber 300.